Monday Morning Quarterback: No time for Eagles to go over latest victory

Eric Hartline / USA Today Sports

Can the Eagles begin to avoid scenes like this one, with Tennessee Titans safety Daimion Stafford (39) intercepting a pass, more than twice a game, which is the case now?

Can the Eagles begin to avoid scenes like this one, with Tennessee Titans safety Daimion Stafford (39) intercepting a pass, more than twice a game, which is the case now? (Eric Hartline / USA Today Sports)

Thanks to the rigors of a typical NFL schedule, the Eagles now are in a mad rush to get ready for their most important game of the season.

They won't even have time to abbreviate their regular routine of breaking down what they did right and what they did wrong the day after every game.

"We will not go over this game," defensive coordinator Billy Davis said minutes after the Eagles romped to a 43-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans yesterday. "We'll go right on to Dallas."

This is because the Eagles (8-3) and Cowboys (8-3) are scheduled for a Thanksgiving day showdown in Dallas that will leave the winner (providing there is one) alone atop the NFC East standings heading into the final quarter of the season

And maybe that's not the worst thing in the world for this team, which did almost as many things wrong as it did right.

Today's Monday Morning Quarterback examines the hurried state of the of the team, which also could be dealing with another troublesome injury at inside linebacker that could thrust overwhelmed first-round draft pick Marcus Smith into extended action it was hoping he wouldn't have to see until next season.

Emmanuel Acho, who has shared time with fellow backup Casey Matthews since starting MIKE inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, went out with an ankle injury late in Sunday's contest.

It meant that Smith, who was drafted in the first round this year as an outside linebacker, might need to be ready to handle a position he's been taught on the fly.

"He's going to have to be, he's going to have to be," Davis said. "I think I can control some of that with my calls, and we can small it, make sure that he is ready.

"I think that he is. We'll see. You really never know until you get them out there in a game with the bright lights on."

There are other issues, to be sure.

Before being injured, Acho gave up a big play when he was isolated in coverage on faster tight end Delanie Walker, which was far from the first time an opponent has been able to create such a mismatch.

And rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger managed to throw for 345 yards despite facing a continuous barrage in which he was sacked five times and hit countless others.

But Davis didn't seem bothered by what went wrong as he was satisfied with what went right.

"Delanie had a couple of nice plays and we knew he would," Davis said, "because he's one of their top targets. So we had a couple of plays where we were doubling him and giving him help and you can't every down.

"So we brought some pressure [with a blitz], it was unblocked, and they made a big play on it. So I'm not overly concerned with our matchups. The guys that are in can handle it."

Offensively, quarterback Mark Sanchez tossed two more interceptions as the Eagles increased their turnover total to an NFL-high 27.

There are six other teams with more than 20 turnovers. None have winning records.

But again, they are in no position to dwell. They're in too much of a hurry.

"Maybe a couple of years ago those two interceptions would have just eaten away at me," Sanchez said. "But there's no time to worry about it. There's time to fix it this week and really work on it. Some of those throws are throws that I've made a million times. That's the most frustrating thing.

"I'm sure it's like a golfer who has made that easy 4-foot putt all the time and then one day it lips out. That's not cool. That's not fun. We’'l get it right because I know those guys are going to be open again and it's my job to put it on them."

It was clear that he was in a good amount of pain during and after the game, and that this is probably going to be the norm for him until next season, when he should be fully recovered from hernia surgery in September that he's obviously not fully recovered from now.

Kelce theorized that this short week might actually help him because coach Chip Kelly plans to dial down his usual practice demands in order to help the players get their legs back by Thursday.

But the bottom line is that Kelce is going to be dealing with this issue until he gets a full offseason to rest.